Out of all the actors who have portrayed Batman, Ben Affleck sure did stir up the most controversy. Several years ago when he was announced, fans were outraged so much that they even started a petition to remove him from the film. The man did fail to bring us a memorable Daredevil and he wasn’t exactly known for playing the heroic leading man. People didn’t want him as Batman, simple as that, but when he made his debut in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, not a word of hatred was spoken. Affleck brought us a Batman that was mentally broken by twenty years of crime-fighting in Gotham, physically imposing enough to make Superman look small, made great use of his gadgets, and gave us a fight scene that made our hearts pump faster than The Flash. Affleck had officially silenced haters.
Despite the poor reception of BvS, Affleck was set to direct, write, and star in his own Batman movie, going with The Batman as the title. Then some behind the scenes drama kept brewing, and Affleck revealed that he was stepping down from the director’s chair. Shortly after that, more reports were surfacing, claiming that Affleck would hang up the cape as Batman. This made fans unhappy, and shortly after the release of Justice League, their worst fears came to pass. It was confirmed that Affleck was indeed stepping down from the role and The Batman would star someone else. With Robert Pattinson replacing him, it’s highly unlikely that The Batman will take place in the DC Cinematic Universe, but where does that leave Affleck?
Affleck did confirm that he will not be returning as Batman, but does that rule out the possibility that we’ll never see “Batfleck” again? If Pattinson is indeed playing a Batman that is outside The DCEU, and Batfleck is still alive and well, then his story arc is not complete. Last time we saw him, he was preparing to set up a headquarters for the Justice League, so he was in a good spot. How is this Batman’s arc supposed to continue if the actor is gone? Well, there are some possible routes they can take, but let’s do a quick recap first.
It should be noted that Zack Snyder’s departure from the DC Cinematic Universe may have been a huge factor in Affleck’s own departure. Before Snyder departed from Justice League due to his family tragedy, he had a whole plan for a Justice League trilogy that involved the team going up against Darkseid. Darkseid is the League’s main adversary and arguably more powerful than Thanos, so having the League fight him would’ve been a great finale. There’s no need to go into the Snyder cut of Justice League, since that’s been talked about enough, but Snyder did reveal a crucial part of his plan. Replying to a fan on the social media app, Vero, Snyder confirmed that Justice League was indeed building up to a confrontation with Darkseid that would have ended with Batman sacrificing himself to save the League. The theatrical cut of Justice League briefly mentioned Darkseid, but it spend a lot of time developing Batman.
Throughout the course of Justice League, Batman spent most of his time trying to get Wonder Woman to lead the team, and talked a lot about sacrifice. He constantly told Alfred and Wonder Woman that his days were numbered as Batman and he was willing to trade places with the dead Superman. His willingness to sacrifice himself for the team became evident when he attempted a suicide mission in the final battle, but his team saved him. Batman was willing to die, sure, but he came off as more pessimistic, rather than heroic. Snyder’s trilogy probably would’ve built this up more so that Batman’s sacrifice would have some heroic merit to it, but with Snyder gone, that ending probably won’t be seen.
So with Affleck out and the plan to kill off his version of Batman scrapped, how does the character’s arc continue? The answer is rather long and complicated, but it would be a proper send off that is far more deserving than what he got. He doesn’t need his own solo movie and he doesn’t even have to be killed off. It’s possible that Affleck can be persuaded to return to the role if the DCEU gets a more tangible plan (which they seemingly have now) and his role can be brief, but still meaningful. How is that possible, you ask? Well, fans of the comics might remember a little conversation between Batman and The Flash during the Flashpoint storyline. It was this final moment where we see the two heroes of one timeline interact before the New 52 timeline begins. After that, new versions of the heroes took the spotlight.
When this conversation takes place, we see The Flash telling Batman about his attempt to go back in time and save his mother, only for a new timeline to be created as an unexpected result. Batman listens to his story while fiddling around with one of his gadgets, so The Flash puts a letter in front of him. This letter is actually from his father, Thomas Wayne, who took up the mantle as Batman in that timeline after the Bruce Wayne of that world was killed. When Batman reads the letter, he tears up and thanks The Flash for delivering it to him. This was a rare emotional moment for Batman that we don’t see too often, so it was certainly a joy to read. Does that mean it can work for the DCEU?
Rumors about the progression of The Flash movie have been wish-washy, but one of the early rumors claims that it will follow the Flashpoint storyline. If this is true, then it would be the perfect opportunity to implement this scene, giving Batfleck something emotional to work with. It’s a short scene that would also develop Ezra Miller’s Flash, considering he was recruited and mentored by Batman, building a stronger bond to their relationship. More importantly, it would be a great send-off for Batfleck, since Flashpoint might serve as a reboot for the DC Cinematic Universe. No heroic sacrifice, no traveling back to the past, just a good old heartfelt goodbye.
Ben Affleck is gone, but he is already missed tremendously. What he brought to the role was unexpected, and his return would be welcomed, but it’s something we all have to sit on. What we can do, however, is not rule out the possibility of him returning. After all, who wouldn’t want to see that iconic scene from Flashpoint be recreated for The DC Cinematic Universe?
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